• 대한수의학회지
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• 제37권4호
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• pp.755-763
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• 1997

Recently new technologies for the establishment of high health herds are becoming efficient tools in the control of PRRS virus and secondary infections. Medicated early weaning(MEW) and nursery depopulation(ND) have shown to be one of the most successful procedures in the eradication and control of pathogens. Indirect evidence of the role of PRRSV in precipitating secondary infection comes from successful improvement in growth and in decreasing mortality on farms that have eliminated PRRSV through ND. Hence the present experiments were conducted in an effort to compare ND with MEW procedures as a means of eliminating PRRSV controlling secondary pathogens and improving performance of pigs in endemically infected swine herds. Following MEW and ND procedures practiced in the farms, some benefits obtained were as follows: 1. A decrease in PRRSV circulation in the nursery, but no entire elimination. 2. Decrease in the frequency of secondary bacteria and in the use of antibiotics. 3. Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae infection was prevented during the nursery stage. 4. ND protocol had a lower cost and management changes than MEW techniques. 5. Nursery performance was improved after the depopulation, cleaning and disinfection procedures, even though PRRSV still being cycled in the old nursery rooms. These studies revealed that the MEW and ND protocols are not always successful for PRRS virus elimination but it's great effect on control of secondary pathogens and improvement of performance make MEW and ND an efficient tools for the establishment of healthier and more efficient herds.

• 대한수의학회지
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• 제39권6호
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• pp.1218-1223
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• 1999

The purposes of this study are to examine seroprevalence of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae infection in pigs of different age groups, and retrospectively determine if nursery depopulation (ND) could influence the seroprevalence of M hyopneumoniae infection in nurseries. Sera of 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 weeks old pigs from 7 farms were first selected from a serum bank to examine serologic profiles for M hyopneumoniae infections. Availability of representative sera in the serum bank was a major criterion for farm selection. The sera were tested for M hyopneumoniae antibodies by an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using Tween-20 extracted antigen. Serum samples were also selected from 15 of 34 swine farms that previously participated in a ND study. In order to evaluate M hyopneumoniae infection following ND, ELISA was performed with sera of 8~10 weeks old nursery pigs collected prior to and after ND for up to 12 months from the 15 farms. Serological profiles showed positive ELISA titers for 2 of 7 farms at 8 weeks, 4 of 7 farms at 12 weeks, 6 of 7 farms at 16 weeks, 6 of 6 farms at 20 weeks of age. Prior to ND, 11 of the 15 farms had positive titers in sera of 8~10 weeks old pigs. Sera of 8~10 weeks old pigs collected from 7 of the 11 farms (63.6%) were ELISA antibody negative for up to 12 months following ND. In conclusion, seroconversion to M hyopneumoniae was detected commonly between 10~16 weeks of age, indicating the occurrence of natural infection during the nursery age. The ND appeared to be an effective method to prevent M hyopneumoniae infection within the nursery pig in some farms.